


Picture Perfect

by ByTheAngell (SomeLittleInfamy)



Series: Flufftober 2019 [28]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Friends to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-28
Updated: 2019-10-28
Packaged: 2021-01-05 16:48:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21211841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SomeLittleInfamy/pseuds/ByTheAngell
Summary: Izzy asks Clary to send her selfies during her year abroad, but what she actually gets upon Clary's return is more than she could hope for.





	Picture Perfect

**Author's Note:**

> Flufftober Day 28: Souvenir

Izzy’s determined to finally tell Clary how she feels about her after Clary’s graduation from art school. The timing feels perfect until Clary tells her that she’s going to take a year off to travel. Clary wants to see the world, to study different cultures and their art forms, to get inspiration from places outside of the concrete jungles of the city or the singular rural area of Luke’s farmhouse. And Izzy gets it, of course she does, and she’s nothing but supportive and encouraging and happy for Clary the entire time. 

Izzy also takes it as a sign that maybe this just isn’t meant to be, and says nothing about her feelings before Clary leaves. 

Izzy misses Clary more with every passing day she’s gone. The constant silence of the apartment is stifling. There are things that keep Izzy busy - her family, her science coursework, the sort of New York socialite social life that most people would kill for - but it all feels a bit empty without Clary by her side. 

They talk as much as they can whenever Clary has a wifi connection, and it’s only two or three weeks in when Izzy lets it slip how much she misses seeing Clary every day. 

“I want selfies,” Izzy suddenly demands. 

“What?” Clary laughs. 

“You asked me what I wanted as a souvenir from your trip before you left, and I didn’t know. Well, I want selfies. Of you. Every time you get somewhere new, or you’re doing something exciting, I want you to take a selfie and send it to me. That way I get to see your face  _ and _ know you’re still alive  _ and _ live vicariously through your adventures.” 

“You know I prefer to be behind the camera, not in front of it-” Clary starts to argue, but Izzy lets out a small whine. 

“Pleeeease? For me? I won’t show anyone else, I swear.” Izzy practically begs. 

“You know I can’t say no to you, Iz. Especially not when you sound like that,” Clary says, and there’s something softer about her words now. “Are you sure you’re okay?” 

“Yeah,” Izzy insists. “I just didn’t realize I’d miss you this much.” She almost says more but stops herself, afraid she’s said too much already. 

“Me too,” Clary admits. “Hold on.” 

There’s the sound of some shuffling, a minute of silence on the other end, and then Clary’s back just as Izzy gets a text alert. It’s a selfie of Clary smiling from her hostel. 

“I love it,” Izzy confirms, and saves it to her phone. 

It’s a few months in when Izzy starts picking her favorite photos of Clary and printing them out, keeping the physical copies to leave around the apartment. It’s nice to see Clary smiling and having fun and it never fails to brighten Izzy’s day even if it’s a photo she’s looked at a dozen times already. She even uses her favorite as a placeholder in whatever book she’s reading at the moment and keeps more than a few on the end table next to her bed. 

Which is exactly where Clary finds them when she comes home early from her trip as a surprise. Izzy finds Clary sitting on the sofa sifting through selfies three weeks earlier than she expects her. 

“You’re home early!” Izzy exclaims, dropping her bookbag and practically throwing herself into Clary’s arms for a hug. 

“You didn’t think I’d miss your birthday, did you?” Clary says, laughing as she hugs Isabelle back. 

That’s when Izzy sees what Clary was looking at before she came in: the selfies. Clary follows her gaze to them. “You saved them,” Clary comments, sounding surprised. The one on top is the very first one she sent. 

“Of course I did. They were my souvenirs, after all,” Izzy deflects. 

“Why did you ask for them, anyway?” Clary asks curiously. 

“Because this experience was everything you ever wanted,” Izzy admits. “The best gift you could’ve given me was knowing you were having the time of your life. I just want you to be happy, because you deserve it.” 

“Well, do you want a photo of me where I’m happiest?” Clary asks. 

“Sure,” Izzy agrees. She waits a second, expecting Clary to show her a photo from her phone, but instead Clary presses up beside her and holds her arm out, snapping a photo of the two of them just as Clary turns to kiss Isabelle on the cheek. 

Clary brings her phone back towards them to show a perfectly surprised Isabelle while Clary kisses her cheek, smirk clearly visible. “This,” Clary says pointedly. “Is where I’m happiest.” 

Isabelle smiles back. “I think I could use a few more souvenirs of that, then,” Izzy suggests with an eyebrow raised. 

“That can be arranged,” Clary says, and this time when she turns her head to kiss Isabelle on the cheek, Isabelle turns her head as well, lips meeting just as the camera clicks. 

**Author's Note:**

> (Find me on [Tumblr](http://bytheangell.tumblr.com) and also on [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/By_The_Angell)! <3 )


End file.
